Don't drop Torres just yet

Fernando Torres' stint hasn't had the best of times at Chelsea. The player himself admitted that there has been some dark times but at the beginning of this season, during Chelsea's bright start to the season, it appeared Torres had turned a corner and was back to something near his best.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Spainard's form has dipped once again and many are saying that is now time for Chelsea to cut their losses and offload the striker in January.

With the arrival of interim manager Rafael Benitez under whom Torres enjoyed his best seasons in England at Liverpool, there is renewed hope that Torres' can be revived and begin to play at a level which justifies that infamously hefty price tag.

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen but in the long run I believe it would be in Chelsea's best interests to keep Torres at the club. Form is temporary, class is permanent goes the saying and Torres is a world class striker who has experienced a bad patch in his career, by his standards anyway.

We must remember that he has still been able to produce goals during his time at Chelsea and although his record of 11 goals in 58 appearances doesn't make for great reading the striker has also provided a number of assists proving that he is still effective even if he doesn't get on the scoresheet.

With Chelsea's bad run of form in the last couple of weeks and the changing of managers, Torres has again come under scrutiny for his lack of production but it is unfair to blame one man when there are 10 other players on the pitch with him.

It is the easy option to target Torres because of the £50 million that was spent on him and the position he plays but if Chelsea were to take the decision of offloading him January it would be a bad move. Benitez may very well be able to get the best out of him like he did at Liverpool but even so Torres should remain.

He still has the movement and footballing IQ to find space and create chances and this will prove very important to Chelsea as the season goes on. The goals might not be flowing just yet, and they haven't been for a while, but you have to believe that a striker of Torres' will be able to remember where the net is soon. 

Besides, what's the alternative? Sign Drogba on a loan deal? That smacks of desperation so the best option is to instil maximum faith in Torres and if by seasons end there is still no improvement then it is time to consider ending his Chelsea career.

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